The words resonated within his eardrums. He didnt feel like himself
right now. He felt somehow disconnected from his body and mind.

I found you on the beach when my boyfriend disappeared.

Who was talking to him? To whom did these words belong to?

It was the strangest thing, too... He just vanished into the air,
and then you fell down by my feet...

Things felt most definitely unusual for the middle aged man. He wondered
briefly if this was some sort of hallucination. After having a quick debate
with himself, he shrugged the notion off, realizing that he was too fatigued
to care at this point.

Do you know where he is? The same voice asked in a melancholy
undertone.

The figure disabled in the bed gradually managed to pry his eyes open, and
observe the surroundings through his clouded vision. The voice talking to
him sounded undoubtedly sweet, and the room appeared pleasant enough, but
something didnt seem right. It would take him more than a few moments
to recall the events that had led to his sudden loss of consciousness. Before
he had the necessary time to gather these thoughts, however, his eyes focused
on the features of a young woman, possibly in her mid to late teens, staring
him curiously in the face.

And in a moment, he realized who the face belonged to.

The stranger instantaneously regained his sharp-as-a-tack senses, and threw
the bed sheets to the floor while jumping to his feet, all in a single motion.
He needed take no more than a half step before he clutched the girls neck
in his powerful hands, choking off her air supply, and throwing his shoulder
up against her mouth to prevent any sort of scream from escaping from the
orifice. Indeed, the young lady attempted to squeal, but no noise came out.

Leena! The suddenly aggressive man shouted into the frightened
teens ears. What trickery are you trying to pull off!?
Squeezing her fragile neck a little harder, he muttered, Witch! What
are you doing here!?

The grip upon Leenas throat loosened temporarily, to allow her to answer
the question. When nothing besides frightened sobs escaped her throat, Leena
was roughly thrown up against the wall by her assailant. Speak!!!

Then, as suddenly as the entire incident had begun, The large, powerful man
dropped the girl onto the floor. It worked  he sputtered
under his breath. Steenas plan actually worked 

Leena, now cowering in terror with her back still pressed against the wall,
would have burst out in panicked tears, had it not been for the absolute
fear she trembled with at this moment. What What do you want?
There was a noticeable quiver in her voice.

The stranger looked over to the terrified teenager sprawled against the corner
of the room. She probably doesnt have a damn clue what Im
talking about, he thought. Would it be possibly for Leena to be innocent
in this strange reality? Walking over slowly and sternly towards the
young woman, and noticing her attempt futilely to make herself disappear
into thin air, the man prepared to make an apology. You are Leena,
correct?

The girl nodded, although barely perceptibly. How do you know who I
am?

Youre Boyfriend You mentioned him earlier. Would
his name happen to be Serge?

Leenas eyes grew wide as she gasped in astonishment. Who are
you!?

This may be a little difficult for you to understand, the stranger
began. But I was exchanged into this world for your boyfriend. I am
here in his place, because he now exists in my world. He was called over
because he is quite possibly the only one who can save my home.

The man could tell that Leena, still nearly wetting herself from the sudden
shock of being assaulted, wasnt absorbing the information. So, in a
gesture of friendship, he extended his hand to her, offering her help in
returning to her feet. My name is Guile. You must forgive me for my
unfavorable conduct just now. You see, in my world, you are the epitome of
evil, a great tyrant and my mortal enemy. I am sure youre rather confused
right now, and understandably so. If youll be willing to forgive me
for my mistake, then Ill explain everything to you. Seeing that
Leena still didnt seem trusting of him, Guile flashed her a friendly
smile, and said, Right now, Im the only one who can help you
find your boyfriend. But Im going to need you to help me, first.

.

The dark caverns surrounding the area behind the Divine Dragon Falls were
vastly unexplored, save for a few adventurers. So, to Serge, the cave seemed
more like a maze than a secret base for a resistance movement. As he was
led through a half dozen passages by Radius, unsure of his general direction,
the surreal environment and scarcely detectable lights from torches in the
distance made him feel somewhat uneasy. Eventually, after a trek of what
must have been no more than five minutes, but felt like an hour because of
the generally unsettling atmosphere hanging in the caverns like a morning
fog, Serge watched Radius pull down a torch on the wall, and a door slid
open. Inside, he could see a well lit chamber with an elegant glass chandelier
hanging above a mahogany table and about a half dozen chairs. Two of the
seats were occupied by Karsh and Zoah, while the others remained empty.

Feels like an empty room without Steena sitting here  Radius
muttered as he dignifiedly strolled into the room and took one of the chairs.
Come, Serge. Sit down. He obeyed the older man.

Karsh, sitting directly across from Serge, nearly smiled at the nervousness
of their newest guest. Welcome, Serge from the other world. This is
the Resistances war room. The people sitting in this room are what
currently remain of the Brain Trust. In short, we are the intelligence behind
the Resistance.

It is a bit of an odd meeting, without Steena and Guile, Zoah
commented, almost mimicking what Radius had said no more than a minute earlier.

Serge appeared puzzled. Guile is a part of the Resistance?

Radius nodded. Did Steena ever tell you that as a necessary measure
of pulling you into our world, we were forced to make an
exchange?

Yeah, she mentioned a little bit about it.

Well, Guile was the one who volunteered to be exchanged, the
former Dragoon explained. He never really told us why he wanted to
cross over so badly. Said he had his reasons  Of course,
in order to get him down to the Opassa Naval Pier safely, we needed to perform
a major operative strike against some of the checkpoints manned by Porre
military personnel. In the course of the mission, however, our Serge was
cut off from the main group, and thats when the forces stationed around
Arni shot him down and killed him.

So we thought  Zoah morbidly reminded him. Now, hes
mad at the whole group of us for leaving him to die, and hes already
exacted his revenge on Steena.

And what did you call me here to your war meeting for? Serge
curiously asked.

Karsh took that question. We need your, other world point of view,
so to speak, for the planning and execution of the next strike on Porre.
Also, with such drastic changes taking place recently to our core personnel,
we need to take a look at the direction we wish to take our network.

I see  Serge trailed off. Do you want my honest opinion
of where I think you guys stand, at least based off my limited knowledge
on this world so far?

Shoot, Karsh instructed.

Serge took his time choosing the right words, being sure to speak in terms
that his newfound allies would be able to decipher. Lets, for
a moment, theoretically compare the Nation of Porre, along with its colonies
based here in El Nido, and I presume elsewhere, to a mighty hydra. Not just
any hydra, mind you, but a giant, hungry, pissed off at the world for killing
her babies type hydra. What you guys are trying to do is bring this monstrosity
of a beast down by stabbing it with needles. Valiant effort on your part,
yes, but I dont think that youre anything more than an annoyance
that occasionally comes out of hiding and guns down a few of its marines.

So what youre saying is that we need to be more aggressive?
Radius searched for clarification.

In response, Serge shook his head. No, its not about aggressiveness.
Its about magnitude. What the Resistance aspires to be is an actual
uprising, a major rebellion of sorts. What the Resistance really is, is a
pesky rogue terrorist group to the Porre Nation. A fly that it desperately
wants to swat, but nothing more. Were not really disrupting Porre as
a whole in any way.

Okay, Karsh acknowledged, that may be a bit of an assault
on our pride, but its a fair assessment. The problem is, how the hell
do you suggest we deal a decisive blow to Porre, with what little manpower
we have? Theres not much we could do that would actually turn the heads
of the administrative bureaucratic assholes running things up in Porre City.
They think were a Colony problem.

The issue is indeed manpower, Serge boldly declared. I
have a feeling were not the only ones angry with Porre. We have to
advertise our ranks, get our angry message across to the people, and look
for a few potential allies. Once we get some muscle behind us, we figure
out a way to attack the heart of Porre, up on the Zenan Continent.

Easier said than done. No ship, big or small, could even reach the
boundary waters of El Nido before being blown to the bottom of the sea by
the Navys frigates, Zoah warned sternly. But I suppose
thats something well have to worry about later.

Agreed, Radius proclaimed. First, we have to decide where
we should move our base to, now that Divine Dragon Falls is no longer considered
black.

Huh? What do you mean by black? Why do we have to move the base?
Serge inquired, obviously unsure of why they were discussing such matters.

Karsh looked at Serge as if he had some kind of foreign object protruding
from his forehead. How thick are you, kid? Serge The old Serge,
that is, has completely defected from our operation. What if he turns himself
into Porre, rats out the location of our secret base to the enemy, and they
decide to take us out? And believe me, Leena would like for nothing more
than to blast us back to the stone age. Theyll either storm the place
with special forces, five hundred strong, or theyll put a fighter jet
in the stratosphere and satellite-guide a Dragon Missile, no doubt armed
with a photon-based nuclear warhead, directly up our poopshoot.

So these photon weapons are bad things? Serge inferred.

Theyre what made the world look like what it is today,
Radius replied. Ugly, dead, and hopeless. After a brief pause,
he turned back to Karsh. Have you assessed any possible new base
locations?

Well, Zoah began, taking over. The navyll shell us
to the ends of the earth if we leave the island, and we dont have a
big enough boat, anyway. Viper Manor is now a space-age military outpost
and research center for the El Nido Colony, and is completely under Leenas
control. Termina, as we all know, was hit by a photon bomb in the earliest
stages of invasion, and its now a ghost town full of rubble and mutants
and outlaws. Fort Dragonia, likewise, was bombed to a crater. The Hyrda Marshes
are a hotbed of radiation poisoning waiting to happen. Cape howl is the site
of a surface-to-air missile field, and a couple legions of tanks. Fossil
Valley is a major transport route for the army. That leaves, by my best
estimates, the Shadow Forest. I doubt Porre would have ever bothered looking
in that god-forsaken bog of suicide. Theres nothing useful there.

Anyone see any problems with the Shadow Forest? Radius asked.
It was actually the option I was leaning towards before I listened
to Zoahs briefing.

Serge remained silent, not knowing enough about the situation to really have
an opinion. Karsh nodded in agreement. Shadow Forest it is. Prepare
our men, because the sooner we get out of here, the safer well be.

Well, Radius explained, Theres nothing left of the
city itself besides a pile of crumbled buildings, and the people there are
all fugitives.

If theyre fugitives, then what does that make us? Serge
demanded. Sounds to me like theyre our type of people. Maybe
a little below our usual standards, but potential allies nonetheless. I think
we should at least stop in there before heading to the Shadow Forest, even
if we dont stay.

Interesting stance you have there, Boy! Karsh declared. But
I do think it might be worthwhile to check out.

Zoah pounded his fist onto the table hard enough that it should have, by
all logic, left a dent of some sort. Agreed. Well look into it.
Now, to come up with a plan for getting through Fossil Valley
undetected 

.

South El Nido Sea
10km SSE of Fort Arni

Arg! Blow me arse, mateys! Thars the base!

Captain Fargo, S.S. Invincible is bearing 252 at a current depth of
64 meters!

Aye-aye, First Mate Nikki! Down periscope!

Captain, request permission to take a look for myself before the periscope
has been lowered, Sir!

Permission granted, Sailor.

Nikki smirked. So what if the only reason he was this high on the chain of
command on the old nuclear powered submarine was because his father happened
to be the captain, and not because of his navigation or leadership skills?
At the end of the day, he was still first mate, not a bad title at all. While
the circumstances surrounding this move always drew behind-the-back criticism
from the peons aboard the sub, the fact of the matter was that Nikki acted
as their superior, and his commands were to be followed. Not that he ever
made that many decisions to begin with; he more often then not happened to
pass along orders issued by his father. With all this, Nikki found himself
in a pleasant position. He was a military officer on board a rogue submarine
stolen from the Porre military over ten years ago during the early stages
of the incursion into El Nido, and with Fargo at the helm, there was nothing
he could do outside of becoming a traitor or an extreme foul-up that could
remove him from his title.

Nikki brushed passed his father and peered anxiously into the periscope.
His vision reflected to a circular, narrow viewpoint slightly above the surface
of the sea, and obstructed in parts by a dark, thin crosshair. Indeed, Fort
Arnis high, boding gun turrets and defense towers stood out from the
darkened skies with utmost clarity. There was no mistaking it.

That bastard Norris thought this boat sank ten years ago due to a
navigation problem in the El Nido Triangle. Wont he be surprised when
he finds out where these missiles come from? Captain Fargo slyly observed,
very much pleased with his efforts. Two lethal strikes dead into the
heart of the center of operations of Porres El Nido Division. Ive
waited so long for this moment 

Captain! Fargo immediately turned around to see whom the voice
belonged to. The corners of his mouth raised when he did.

Admiral, Im pleased to see ya, he said. Tell me,
Irenes, how did the scouting report go? All is well?

The mermaids hair was still soaked from the water. Ja.
Youd be surprised how calm de ocean is. Schwimming in through de torpedo
tubes is still quite unpleasant, however.

Aye, good, good, the captain demonstrated his tremendous delight
in an almost non caring manner. Turning quickly to his son, he asked,
Nikki, is the sonar clear?

Clear as a bell, Capn! I must inform you, however, that the sea
only has a depth of about 78 meters in this area, the first mate
declared. That means were only sitting about 14 meters off the
bottom. We wont be able to hide when they send the warships out from
Opassa. Well be buried alive by depth charges.

Arg! Thats why it was never my intention to sit round the
bottom and wait for em to scare us outta the water. After launch,
well change course to 162, and throw the turbines in full force. The
land lubbersll hear us snoopin on the seabed, without question,
but we should be able to get a good jump on em. Well take our
chances hidin once we git into deeper waters.

Captain, Irenes interjected, abruptly breaking Fargos rush
of strategy with her thick accent. If we travel at thirty knots under
de water, de warships in de area will surely be able to hear us und track
our movements.

Fargo grumbled under his breath while pulling out a cigarette from a pack
within his seamans jacket and planted it between his lips. It was a
telltale sign that underneath his composed leadership, a fair amount of
nervousness and uncertainty had begun to set in. In the midst of lighting
the dark tobacco, something that wasnt exactly considered policy on
board a submarine, Fargo cleared his throat, I said Id take my
chances. My first goal is going to be gettin me the hell outta the
hot zone.

Sir, Ive received confirmation on the attack coordinates from
the ops room, First Mate Nikki reported. Then, in a subtle but noticeable
change of persona from junior officer to Fargos son, he boldly stated,
Lets do this thing.

The captain didnt seem nearly as enthused. I suppose Im
gonna have to give some kinda speech to the crew  Walking over
to a control panel stationed against the wall, he picked up an intercom.
Ahoy, mateys! This is yer captain speaking! By this stage in the mission,
yall should know what yer here for! We will be launching a small but
powerful assault on the center of Porres military operations in El
Nido. Two warheads shall be fired directly in the center of the command district.
Although the strike will be directed at army personnel, a number of civilian
innocents will lose their lives. Make no mistake, mateys! Thar be no
turnin back after this. Well be branded as public enemy number
one in Porre. Well be targets for the rest of our lives. This is the
stage where yer captain is required to create some sort of inspirational
speech, or say some infamous words that will go down in history. Im
afraid Im not the kind of pirate that comes up with these sorts of
things. Im no damned good at it. So, since well be unintentionally
murdering a fleet of civilians, I cannot possibly stand here with a completely
positive outlook. With that said, I now leave you with the most fitting words
that I could think of for our current situation  After a brief
pause and sigh, he clutched the intercom tighter than before. General
Leena, I shall gladly greet you when I arrive in the fiery depths of Hell.
Watching your suffering shall make my anguish all the less miserable.

Fargo slammed the intercom into the wall, cursing under his breath for some
unknown reason, possibly because he was hesitant about what he was about
to carry out. No sooner than the intercom had been snapped back into its
socket, Nikki immediately grabbed hold of it. Crew, load the missiles
into the torpedo tubes.

A half minute later, a crewmans voice crackled over the speaker in
the room. Sir, Torpedoes 1 and 2 have been successfully loaded. Standing
by for further orders.

Captain Fargo, quickly dispelling thoughts of uncertainty from his mind,
walked over and snatched the intercom from his first mate. Mateys,
fire the Seadog 1 on my orders! He screamed, bellowing loud enough
that a surface ship in the area might have picked up his voice on the sonar.
Silence ensued the command. Finally, the captain of the S.S. Invincible held
the transmitter close to his mouth and roared, FIRE!!!

The entire submarine shook from the force of the torpedo being forcibly ejected
from its holding case, and the sound of the water being cast aside from the
great weapon echoed throughout the navigation room. A long stream of bubbles
trailed tightly behind the torpedo as it sped upwards toward the surface
of the dark El Nido Sea.

Fargo waited until the noise of the launch had died down slightly. Mateys,
arm the Seadog 2, and fire on my word!

The Seadog 1 broke through the surface of the water almost simultaneously
with those words, 64 meters above the S.S. Invincible. Breaking out from
underneath the waves, the torpedo leapt out of the ocean like a spawning
salmon, fluttering in the air for a few brief moments. A computerized chip
inside the weapon sent a signal to the various circuit boards inside the
projectile, and almost instantaneously, two metallic, hollow half-cylinder
pieces of machinery dropped off from the outside of the Seadog 1, whilst
the propeller fell off the backside of the torpedo. In effect, the casing
around the weapon, fell off, transforming it from a torpedo to a missile
while it floated in the middle of the air. Now that it no longer needed to
travel through the water, the torpedo components of it were dropped, and
the shedding metal skin gave way to the liquid-fuel based rocket hiding on
the inside. This technology of morphing from torpedo to missile allowed a
long-range guided missile to be fired from under the water, so the submarine
never had to surface to attack a land-based target.

A quick electrical spark gave ignition to the liquid rocket fuel, and soon
the missile had enough thrust underneath it to overthrow the reigns of gravity.
Within seconds, the Seadog 1 was pushing its way high into the atmosphere,
searching for its target far below. At the range it was from the target,
and the velocity at which the projectile traveled, the missile would strike
Arni within the next seventy seconds. The guidance system wouldnt have
much time to correct errors.

.

Admiral Wazuki! the young, just out of boot camp radar operator
shouted. A man decorated with a high-ranking Porre uniform, littered with
various medals and stripes, stepped over to observe the young greenhorn.

What is it, Private? he asked, taking a look out at the clouded,
forbidding skies on the other side of the window. The aircraft carrier underneath
him quietly rolled across the violent white caps of the sea.

Admiral, Sir, I just picked up something weird on the radar. It looked
like a big bird, but it seemed to be moving incredibly fast. It was just
there for a couple of sweeps, then it disappeared Im not sure
what to make of it.

Admiral Wazuki thought about the situation briefly. Its probably
nothing, a glitch in the system or something. Let me know if you see something
like it again.

Yessir! came the uniform reply.

.

FIRE!!! Fargo howled into the intercom. The second torpedo tube
expelled the Seadog 2 shortly thereafter, and with this action came the now
familiar shuddering of the submarine. The noise subsided quickly, and the
captain again screamed into to his crew. Change course 162, full forward
thrust! Be prepared to dive slightly deeper when the water depth
increases! Immediately, the great submarine began moving.

All this while, the second torpedo breached the surface of the water, dropping
its outer shell the same way its predecessor had, and becoming a
surface-to-surface missile. And, following almost the same path as its
counterpart, Seadog 2 blasted high into the air in search of its target,
a nearly invisible flame burning behind it, torching the skies with enough
heat to make the air shimmer. Behind the flame, a long, whitish tail of smoke
streaked in contrast to grayish clouds overhead. It would arrive at its target
no more than twenty seconds after the first missile struck.

.

Sir, its back! the young recruit yelled from the radar
screen. Admiral Wazuki barely had time to turn around before this shout had
been issued, and this time, he watched the greenish blip on the radar race
across the length of the innermost circle with a great speed. Then, just
as the private had reported to him only moments earlier, the blip on the
screen disappeared.

What the hell? the admiral quietly muttered underneath his breath.

He didnt have much time to contemplate the situation. A young naval
officer bolted into the command center of the warship and, in an almost panicked
voice, shouted, Admiral Wazuki! I just saw something white streaking
across the sky! I have no idea what it was. If you look out the starboard
window, you may still be able to see it.

After that, Wazuki needed no further information. He now knew exactly what
the strange blips on the radar screen were: High altitude missiles. The white
tail left by a rocket was unmistakable, especially by someone who had seen
so many in his life, and the description by the young naval officer matched
identically. The conclusion came in congruence with what had happened on
the radar, and the admiral cursed himself for not recognizing it earlier.
He blamed the flaw on the fact that it had been five, maybe seven years since
he had actually seen this type of thing. In this part of the world, the Porre
military didnt test its rockets anymore, because it didnt need
to, and in El Nido, they werent really fighting a naval war anymore.
Everything was done with air-to-surface strikes from fighter planes now.

I dont recall there being any missile tests scheduled,
the admiral muttered. Strange. Ill have to see who authorized
this and didnt bother to tell me  Then, speaking in a louder
voice so that someone besides himself could hear, he said, Get General
Norris on the line. Tell him Ive got a little bone to pick with him.

.

The first missile was nearly directly over Fort Arni now, traveling downward
at an eighty degree angle. In short, it was plummeting fast, straight into
the middle of the command center of the military outpost. Not far behind,
her sister rocket was changing trajectory, evening out the tail and the warhead
so that the projectile was parallel with the earth, before it finally began
descending toward a munitions plant inside the base.

The military command center in Fort Arni being targeted by the missile, one
of several throughout the outpost, sat inside a three story, two basement
building, which rested right in the middle of a populated downtown sector
that included entertainment centers, commercialized businesses, and residential
apartments for soldiers. Hence, the building had been built on a plot of
land taking up no more than six acres. There was nothing distinct or unusual
about the structure, and any passer-by wouldnt think it was anything
more than another office or some public housing. A thick concrete layer
surrounded the steel beams of the building, and dark, reflective windows
littered the exterior, making it look the same as every other structure in
the area. Inside, however, were chambers and offices filled with computers,
top secret papers, and high ranking personnel at all hours, the brains behind
much of what happened with the El Nido Armed Forces.

The Seadog 1 crashed into the roof of the compound from directly above, at
speeds just shy of three times the sound barrier. The missile ruptured the
concrete roof, broke through the ceiling, and penetrated into the top floor
of the building. The tip of the warhead smashed through the floor of an office,
a desk residing not far to the right of where it hit, and the displaced air
from the rocket sent every piece of paper on the furniture flying in all
directions. Then, the great explosive weapon punctured the carpet and
floorboards, digging downward into the second story, and leaving a gaping
hole in the structure it had sliced through.

Less than a hundredth of a second after the missile hat first smashed into
the roof of the command building, it shot into the ground floor, bounced
off a wall and crashed into some hapless guard, dead from the velocity of
the object before he even knew what hit him. Then, the bomb inside the Seadog
one exploded.

With the detonation taking place on the ground level, the second and third
floors of the building were lifted upwards into the sky by the rush of air
resultant of the blast. A brilliant orange inferno burst out from underneath,
the heat of the flames so hot that it melted the glass in the immediate area.
The shattered concrete and twisted steel framework from the higher levels
of the structure were lifted by the explosion to the height of a guard tower,
perhaps as much as fifty feet.

The first floor had been absolutely obliterated, and nothing larger than
a wristwatch would have remained intact. The flying debris became bullets
of rubble and concrete shrapnel, bursting into the surrounding buildings
with such force that they burrowed directly through the framework, damaging
all nearby structures to the point where they would eventually have to be
torn down and rebuilt from the ground up. The glorious orange blaze expanded
outwards until fire was racing up the sides of the adjacent high rises.

Casualties inside the now nonexistent command center were one hundred percent.
Anyone working in the first basement became immediately consumed by the fire,
or blasted into a million tiny chunk of burnt flesh. Anyone inside the more
heavily reinforced second basement got buried by thousands of tons of debris,
and within five seconds of the initial explosion, the second and third floor
came crashing back down to earth, some on top of other buildings, but most
directly on top of the former command center. The rocks that fell on top
of other buildings collapsed parts of roofs, or, on at least a couple of
incidents, cleaved out the wall from the side facing where the bomb had struck.

Any window within a city block of the missile attack instantly shattered
from the ever expanding shockwave. Casualty rates were high from the amount
of airborne glass shards. General Leena had nearly been one of them, walking
past her bathroom mirror just moments before the explosion took place. The
reverberations in the ground knocked her off her feet, and she landed hard
on her arm, tearing a muscle in the shoulder. As the fiery pain shot up and
down her arm, she screamed with confusion and anger, What the
fuck was that!?

.

On the aircraft carrier patrolling the coast outside the Opassa naval yard,
Admiral Wazuki heard a strange, inhuman rumbling echoing throughout the distance.
He wasted no time getting to the deck so he could look in the direction of
the low thunder. What he saw astounded him. A hellish black cloud seemed
to reach out from the sky and collapse on a small section of the base. Underneath
the shroud, a very slight, but noticeable glow flickered in the city. Based
on the distance the carrier had been from Arni, and the speed of sound, it
had taken the howl of the explosion somewhere between twelve and sixteen
seconds to reach him. Now, a downtown district of the military outpost had
been destroyed.

Wazuki peered over the railing on the warship, almost falling into the murky
waters as he squinted, looking hard in to the distance. There was something
else odd about the situation, but he couldnt put his finger on it.
He blinked quickly and tried again. Yes, there it was! There was a faint
trail of smoke moving along the air, headed straight for a second section
of the fort! Which meant

Oh my God  the admiral gasped in disbelief.
No sooner than he had said this, a brilliant, half spherical flash spread
out from the middle of Fort Arni. Swirls of glowing clouds lit the up the
sky, and flames the size of buildings broke out in the general vicinity of
the explosion. Admiral Wazuki turned his head down and muttered a silent
prayer, then hastily darted off to get on the phone to General Norris. He
was inside the communications room just in time to miss the ungodly rush
of warm air pushing the foggy seawater against the normal direction of the
ocean current. Wazuki picked up the receiver and dialed into the city. The
line was dead. Dear God  he exclaimed with enough volume
so the men in the room, though he was only speaking to himself. Fort
Arni just got hit with a goddamn missile! Oh, Jesus! Oh God! Were under
attack!

.

With everyone in Arni watching the fading yellow glow in the air from the
first explosion and the echoes from it remaining very loud throughout the
city, few people had seen the second missile streak across the sky, screaming
loudly in a high-pitched, earsplitting war cry as it plummeted towards a
munitions plant, the white trail of smoke extending behind it into the heavens
above. The Seadog 2 could not have dropped into a more perfect spot, ripping
straight through a window, and dropping into a storage room full of a surplus
of bombs.

The initial explosion was similar in size to the first blast, but didnt
rip the building to shreds because the weapons factory was much bigger in
size than the command outpost. Soon, however, a secondary detonation occurred.
Then a tertiary. One by one, every bomb, warhead, and sack of gunpowder in
the compound became engulfed by the multiple blasts. Eventually, the entire
weapons depot, along with the uninhabited, flat property that surrounded
the plant in all directions so an accident wouldnt damage any nearby
buildings, was lost in a massive fireworks display. The wreckage stretched
across fifty acres of property, strewn haphazardly in all directions, still
burning from the heat. A black cloud of smoke blended in perfectly with the
permanent dark clouds of El Nidos post-apocalyptic world, making it
nearly impossible to see the deep, concave crater denoting the tombstones
of the men working in the factory at the time the explosion took place.
Surrounding the giant hole in the ground for some distance, the undying firestorm
blackened the once smooth, unblemished pavement.

The facility hit by the second missile had been in a remote enough location
that for the most part, debris had not damaged the surrounding buildings,
and the shockwave had not been big enough to blow apart windows or even knock
bystanders off their feet. Some of the explosions inside the compound, however,
caught on fire in such a way that they were shot in completely random directions
like secondary rockets, firing chaotically for short distances into some
distant corner of the city. Blazing yellow streaks whistled raucously as
they spiraled across the sky in a series of smoldering stripes. One of these
makeshift missiles would strike a building or lonely street corner, and light
it up with a large, fiery flash followed by a deafening bang that resonated
in the air for minutes. Anyone unfortunate enough to be within the vicinity
of these projectiles would receive severe burns from head to toe.

After two successive explosions, and the carnage raining on the city because
of the chaos happening at the munitions plant, the entire base collectively
held its breath in hopes that no more attacks would come. Everything was
in disarray as the leaders of the military installation tried to make some
sort of rhyme or reason out of the bedlam. All over the city, while the civilians
holed themselves up in shelters, the political leadership scrambled into
the streets, trying to contact whoever they could and look for a meeting
place where they could discuss the events and what could be done about them.
Until that happened, though, panic surrounded their minds and plagued their
every thought.

.

Glenn and Kid were out of breath by the time they reached Riddel and Orlha,
who were currently stuck with guard duty outside the mouth of the cave in
Divine Dragon Falls. Dirt flew off their shoes with every running step they
took towards the two young women, both aged beyond their years from the turmoil
they had seen in this ruined world.

Oy! Kid shouted between gasps, barely able to contain her excitement.
Yer never gonna guess whats happenin, Mate! Mate
referred to both Orlha and Riddel.

What is it? Riddel asked, curious, but not really expecting the
news to be big. Kid was one to be rather excitable at times.

Porres base down in Arni is on fire. Some kinda bomb went off,
or somethin. Ya can see the thing from miles away!

Riddel and Orlha both looked over to Glenn, as if searching for some kind
of confirmation. Instinctively, the dragoon nodded, his solid expression
never swaying from the seriousness conveyed on it. Orlha was typically devoid
of emotion as well, but in this case, she allowed a smile to crack on her
face. Seriously? This is great news!

Yeah, ya got that right! Kid exclaimed. Tell Serge an
the others to get their arses in gear! They gotta come watch this!

Theyre all in the war room right now. Looks like theyre
going to miss out on the fun, Orlha said.

Glenn, silent at this point, offered, Orlha, you and Riddel can go
check it out with Kid. Ill stay here and take over the guard duty.
Ive already seen it.

Riddels head tilted to the side, You sure, Glenn?

He smiled softly when he looked into the big, sparkling eyes of Vipers
daughter. Take care of yourself, mlady!

She looked like she was ready to respond with a thanks, but Kid abruptly
cut her off before she could speak. Oy, lets get goin,
then! This destruction aint gonna appreciate itself! With that,
Kid was already running down the dirty brown path of the ugly, lifeless earth
below. In this area of the world, the plants hadnt been dead for long
enough to have decayed completely, so all around there was a mass of tangled
blackish stems and roots, interwoven with the muck on the ground and the
parasites infesting the area. The moldy fungus and soft, rotten, decomposed
flora mushed into a pulp similar in texture to mud when stepped on, only
it stuck to the bottom of ones foot like some type of adhesive paste.
It was, all in all, disgustingly vile, but with the recent news of todays
events, the world seemed just a little bit less bleak. Orhla and Riddel took
off behind Kid, knowing theyd never catch up to her if they didnt
hurry.

.

Leena found herself crawling across the cream colored carpet in her home,
not far from where the first missile had hit. She was incapable of much movement
beyond the crawling, because the fall she had taken had caused a hairline
fracture to a bone in her lower arm, and the shards of glass from the bathroom
mirror had imbedded themselves into the muscles of her leg. Her face had
been bruised as well, but that was of little concern to her. She ignored
the excruciating stings throughout her body as she painstakingly made her
way across the floor.

Still dressed in nothing but her bathrobe, Leena gradually inched her way
closer to the telephone. Soon, with everyone trying to make sense of the
disaster, people would be calling her the way hornets would swarm an intruder
attacking the queen. A stream of blood traced her movements across the floor
back to the bathroom, where the warm, sticky liquid had already begun to
dry and turn to a darker brownish hue. The mess didnt concern her,
though. She could have the carpets replaced later.

The general pulled herself up on a table with her good arm just in time for
the private line to begin ringing. Leena picked up the receiver, not in the
mood for formalities. Speak! she commanded, gritting her teeth
to force the words out and not letting her pain seep into the sound of her
voice.

Leena! Are you alright!

She recognized the voice immediately. Norris! What the hell is going
on!?

Theyre missiles, General. Im assembling a team of analysts
as we speak. Were getting everyone available to a secret meeting place,
and were going to-

Missiles!? Were being attacked by goddamn missiles!?
the leader of Arni screeched, venom hanging off her articulation.

Affirmative, Norris replied.

Leena fumed, Youre telling me somebody launched a fucking missile
at us, we dont know who did it, we dont know where it came from,
and not a person in all of Porre had the slightest clue that this sonuvabitch
was coming!?

Wrong, General. We did see this thing coming, Norris replied.
I just got off the line with Admiral Wazuki, out on the aircraft carrier.
They detected strange movements on the radar screen, and we have multiple
confirmed visual reports of seeing the white plume of smoke trailing behind
what must have been one of the rockets. Apparently, Wazuki thought it was
some kinda test fire. It wouldnt have mattered anyway, because even
with the detection, we dont have anything in place that could intercept
a missile in midair, especially at the range it was likely fired from.

Who did this to us? Leena demanded.

Weve got three hundred scientists making calculations and checking
the computer data. As soon as they know where this thing came from, well
know. After this, the phone went silent for a couple seconds. Is
this line encrypted?

Christ, Norris! Does it even matter? The question was rhetorical.
It most certainly did not. Norris, I cant make it to your emergency
war assembly. Im injured. Pretty badly.

Ill send for a medic. Theyve got their hands full right
now, but theyll make room for you. Be of sound health, Leena.

General Norris, Im issuing a direct order of the utmost importance
to you. Find the bastards that did this, and hunt them to the ends of the
earth, Leena stated, returning to her reputation of ruling with an
iron fist.

You can count on me, came the reply.

.

Home World

I most certainly understand you not being able to trust me, Leena,
Guile said, still astounded by the beauty of a world that hadnt been
ravaged by war. This dimension was certainly far better off than his own.

I dont know who you are  Leena blatantly asserted.
You appeared out of nowhere, you started yelling at me, and you choked
me. Ive got purple bruises on my neck from your fingers. I 
the young girl, understandably, still remained in shock from the incident.
Her neck hurt with soreness, and although she wasnt shedding tears,
her eyes were about ready to burst from the water welled up inside them.
She sniffled slightly. Just leave me alone!

Guile frowned. Leena, youre all Ive got in this world,
and Im all youve got if you want to see Serge again. I know that
this sounds more like a ransom than a terms to base a partnership off of,
especially with that stunt I pulled back there in the bedroom when I thought
you were my enemy, but try to look at the broader picture here. Right now,
we need each other. So, if you can accept my apology, I really believe that
we should put this episode of our lives behind us.

Leena made no attempt to answer, and Guile frowned disappointingly when he
realized this. Look, Im going to go out and explore this new
world that Ive found. Itll help me clear my thoughts, and itll
give you some time to be alone to think about my proposal. Ill be back
before sunrise tomorrow. Ill see you then.

He turned away from the girl sprawled on the floor, and floated out of the
house. The fresh air, air that had not been tainted with the putrid odor
of death or particles of radioactive decay, would do him some good.

I have discovered the greatest of all enigmas, Guile muttered
to himself, observing vegetation for the first time in years. An entire
world, overflowing with ambiguity. Struth, it has been an interesting trip
thus far, and indeed, it shall only become more surprising. I just hope that
back home, all is well during my absence.